Fulop, PSE&G come to terms on paving battle

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop declared a ceasefire with PSE&G Thursday after reaching an agreement with the utility to repave every city road he accused it of neglecting.

Fulop, a Democrat who is widely expected to run for governor, called out PSE&G during a news conference Monday, calling the utility's treatment of the state's cities a "disgrace" compared to how it treats more affluent areas.

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"PSE&G wouldn't do this in Short Hills. They wouldn't do this in Chatham," Fulop said, pointing to jagged black tar marks that were cut into pavement and brick crosswalks at a downtown intersection where the utility had recently done excavation work. "They do this instead in Newark, they do this in Paterson and they do this in Jersey City."

Fulop ordered an immediate halt to all PSE&G work in the city. On Wednesday night, PSE&G gave the city a schedule for repaving areas where it had peformed work and promised to have the work completed by November.

“We’re very happy we could come to an agreement with PSE&G,” Fulop said in a statement. “We look forward to working with them to keep Jersey City infrastructure in a state of repair we can all be proud of.”

PSE&G president Ralph LaRossa said the company looked forward to "getting back to work and servicing this great city and its residents.”